1. Field
Apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a screen printer, and more particularly, to a screen printer capable of easily exchanging a stencil mask with a new one, by forming introduction and extraction portions for a stencil mask without having to manually open/close a cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a screen printer is an apparatus for applying a cream solder-type lead solution to install parts such as an integrated circuit (IC), a resistor, and so on, in a plurality of contact spaces formed on a surface of a printed circuit board (PCB).
A related-art screen printer includes a conveyor installed in an operation region of a main body and conveying a PCB introduced from the outside in both directions, an operation stage configured to position a stencil mask on the conveyor, a squeegee configured to move over the stencil mask positions on the operation stage in both directions and introduce a lead solution disposed on a surface of the stencil mask into each contact space of the PCB, a camera configured to move in both directions and check a position of the PCB and the stencil mask, a cleaning apparatus configured to clean holes of the stencil mask, through which the lead solution passes, and so on.
Such a related-art screen printer moves the PCB onto an operation plate having an operation conveyor disposed at a center position using an introduction-side conveyor, and then, identifying an identification mark attached to the PCB, and an identification mark attached to the stencil mask to precisely align solder surfaces on the PCB with the lead solution passing holes correspondingly punched in the stencil mask.
Next, after the operation conveyor is raised and the stencil mask and squeegee are lowered to adhere the stencil mask and the PCB, a squeegee blade is moved to and fro such that lead disposed on the stencil mask is pushed by the squeegee blade to pass through the lead solution passing holes on the stencil mask, applying the lead on the solder surfaces on the PCB. Next, the PCB on which the lead is applied is conveyed from a center conveyor to a discharge-side conveyor disposed at an opposite side of the introduction-side conveyor to be discharged.
The screen printer described above needs modification operation of a production model during equipment management. During the modification operation of the production model, a stencil mask change operation for printing on a new substrate, a position correction operation of a backup pin for improving print quality of the PCB, an operation of exchanging a backup block, etc. with a new one, an operation of aligning the stencil mask to increase print precision, and so on are performed.
Among them, in order to perform the stencil mask change operation, an operator opens a cover rotatably installed at a front surface of the screen printer, extracts the used stencil mask to the outside, and introduces a new stencil mask.
However, in the related-art screen printer, after an operator opens the cover, since the operation of introducing a new stencil mask through the open portion must be performed, the number of manual operations during equipment management increases, and the stencil mask change operation becomes very troublesome.
In addition, while temperature in the screen printer must be uniformly maintained, when the operator opens the cover of the screen printer to change the stencil mask with a new one, the temperature in the screen printer becomes affected by external temperatures different therefrom, decreasing operation performance of the screen printer and causing operation error.